Natural Remedies to Improve your Skin - PART 2: Outside going in

(to read the previous article about "Natural Remedies To Improve your Skin - PART 1: Inside Going Out" click here)

Now that we've covered what goes into your body let's talk about what you can do to your exterior to look radiant right away!

SCRUBS

                                          

I make my own because I'm poor. Here are a few alternatives that are great for the whole body, safe to use in the shower because sugar and salt base. I suggest scrubbing your face and body after a hot steamy shower, so that your pores will be nice and open (yeah baby, open those pores!) and you'll achieve a really deep peeling.

FOR DRY/DELICATE SKIN:

Sugar scrubs are better for you. Mix a tbsp of cane sugar with a little of flax seed oil (enough to get the sugar a little wet) and massage it into your face. It should feel a little scratchy but not uncomfortable. 

FOR COMBINATION SKIN:

Salt scrub (my personal favorite). You can use fine salt or course salt, depending on the level of scrub you want to achieve (bigger salt = mild scrub / fine salt = heavy scrubbing experience). I like to mix it with Jojoba oil and vitamin E oil, keep reading to learn more about these oils.  

FOR THICK RESILIENT SKIN

Combine the salt with a few lemon drops, it's astringent, will cleanse your pores and then close them forever. Well maybe not forever, but for a week or so for sure.

Try this recipe:

WHY SALT?

1. It brightens the skin color

2. It's rich in minerals

3. Combined with oil, it leaves your skin feeling soft

DO NOT ABUSE THE POWER OF THE FACE SCRUB!!! Or else... your skin will get overly sensitive and you don't want to strip it of all the good oils that it naturally creates to lubricate itself. Shiny skin is good, it means it's healthy. Fuck powder. Let your skin shine! 

FACE MASKS

Two words: clay powder. I started using this 10 years ago to make my own face masks and I never went back to buying a pre-made mask. Invest in some high quality one, cause a little goes a long way. I prefer green clay, I buy it in bulks (500gr at the time) and it lasts me about two years. It doesn't spoil. It's dry powder, why would it? 

Here are some recipes. Add the liquids little by little, until it reaches the desired consistency.

Here's a demonstration of that:

HYDRATING MASK

1tbsp clay powder, yogurt, vitamin E oil. 

MILD HYDRATING MASK

1tbsp clay powder, jojoba oil, water  

SUPERSTRONG ASTRINGENT MASK

1tbsp clay powder, lemon juice, water

I'M FEELING LAZY MASK

1tbsp clay powder, water.

Apply on freshly scrubbed skin and let it sit until it dries out. Then wash it with warm water, one of those little face sponges usually helps. 

Other ingredients you can use for a scrub or a mask: coffee grounds, leftovers from juicer.

DAILY FACE ROUTINE

This is a delicate topic because every person has different needs and I don't feel comfortable making  a blanket recommendation. 

But I can tell you what I use! 

I'm allergic to EVERYTHING (soap, alcohol, scents, parabens, dies) so I have to invest in a face cream that has basically nothing in it. 

For body and face soap I use Seba  Med, free of everything, works very well as a make up remover as well. For tougher make up and lipstick I put some coconut oil on a cotton swab and finish cleaning my face with that. 

For face cream I use a brand called La Roche Posay, it's not the cheapest but it works for me. 

I don't use any toners, makeup removers, eye creams or anti wrinkle creams (yet). When I need a little extra moister I mix a drop of my vitamin E oil with my moisturizer before I go to bed. 

BODY OILS, BODY BUTTERS

Here are some body oils that I recommend using instead of body lotions. 

Jojoba Oil (has the same PH as the skin and has been used for centuries to cure skin irritations)

Almond Oil (great emollient, known to prevent stretch marks even during pregnancy)

Coconut Oil (anti microbial and it smells so good!)

Raw Shea Butter (super hydrating, I use this for dry heals, cuticles and as lip balm)

You can also make your own blend, try following this recipe:

As for something that's already blended try New York Biology ANTI-CELLULITE Massage oil

I buy everything organic and fair trade, in bulks, to save some money, cause as I was saying before I'm poor.

ESSENTIAL OILS

Beside the wonderful scent that they provide, essential oils can be very powerful both on the mind and on the body. 

I buy mine from Amazon, my favorite brand right now is NEW YORK BIOLOGY.

Here are just a few suggestions, for more infos check out this chart.

GERANIUM, TEA TREE: antimicrobial, antibacterial, controls oil production, clears out acne.

ROSE: great for dry aging skin

LAVANDER: the smell of lavender is believed to relieve stress, which is one of the main causes of bad skin. 

SANDALWOOD, YLING YLANG: Anti aging, regulate the PH (so great for any skin type).

So experiment and let me know how it goes. 

Have you been using any of these methods? Anything in particular that you have been doing that has made your skin look amazing? 

Feel free to leave a comment below or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram..

I hope this was helpful! 

Valentina

RealItalianKitchen

How to make Frittata with Zucchini and Potatoes

A simple frittata can really get you all set for a great light lunch or dinner! Or breakfast... I guess...!

I hope you enjoy this video as much as I enjoyed making it and eating my grandma's Frittata!

 Valentina and Mimmi'
Real Italian Kitchen

Tuna Tartare - Real Italian Kitchen

Tuna Tartare

Some of our friends gave me and my husband a bottle of vintage Dom Perignon as wedding present. What an awesome gift! I promised them that to thank them I would prepare a dinner to go with the Champagne, and what better then raw fish to pair with such wine artistry? 

There are many ways to prepare Tuna Tartare. The one I make has vegetables in it, cause eating raw tuna in a bowl makes me feel like a cat. A spoiled cat. 

 Ingredients for 4 people: 

-One small tuna filet, if fresh freeze it overnight to kill all the bacteria and avoid food poisoning.
(If you're not close to the see, every fish you buy has been previously frozen, just so you know…)

-Half a red pepper
-Chives
-The juice of one lemon
-Extra virgin olive oil
-salt and pepper

Step by Step

1. Cut the tuna into cubes, following the natural lines that are already present in the fish.

2. Put it on a strainer and pour the lemon juice over it. You want to marinate it lightly in the lemon, not cook it in it, and citrus is not a main flavor of this dish.

 3. Once the outer part of the tuna has turned "grayish" you can start adding the other ingredients:
the pepper also cut into squares, the chives.

4. Fix with salt and pepper.

 5. Serve on a leaf of lettuce, on a beautiful serving plate. I'm in love with the rectangular plates I got at Pier 1. I know you can also find them at Ikea, and pretty much anywhere nowadays.

Simple right? And delicious! Good things are meant to be shared with the people you love, I hope you will try this recipe soon! 

ENJOY!! 

Valentina

RealItalianKitchen

Pasta with Tomato Sauce

Ok, you have spent DAYS preparing your homemade tomato sauce, now it's time to season it and put it together with some of your favorite pasta!

This is my favorite variation, there are obviously many ways to spice up your tomato sauce.

Ingredients for 2 people:

half of a small jar of tomato sauce
2 cloves of garlic
hot red peppers to taste
extra virgin olive oil
salt
a teaspoon of sugar
160gr of pasta

Utensils:

a large pot where you can boil some water in and cook the pasta with
a non sticky pan to prepare the sauce.

For the step by step watch the video tutorial, right here!

Enjoy!

Valentina
RealItalianKitchen

Homemade Body Scrub w/Shea Butter and Salt

I've always wanted to try to make my own body scrub but never tried cause I thought it would be too rough for my skin.


The salt/shea combination is perfect though. The salt scrubs and dries out the skin while the shea butter nourishes it and makes it soft, glowing and smooth.

Recommended if: you have oily/combination type skin.
Avoid if: you have thin, sensitive skin.
When to use it: once a week,
How to use it: rub on body BEFORE the shower or bath. Insist on tougher areas, like knees and elbows. Because the shea is very greasy (duh, it's a butter), I usually rinse it off with my regular body soap after I'm done.
Rinse the shower with all purpose cleaner after use to avoid slipping all over the place.

Where to buy the unrefined shea butter?
I bought 1 pund for less then $5 from Coastal Scents and I've had it for over a year. I use it alone as a lip balm, hand and cuticle lotion, it's good for sunburns, ingrown hair, some people use it to style curly hair.

Ingredients for 1 month supply:

1/2 cup shea butter
1/3 cup fine salt
a few drops of your favorite essential oil (if you're not allergic, I am therefore I don't add any)

1. Melt the butter in the microwave, if you don't have one use the bagno maria technique
2. Mix in the salt and essential oil.

READY!

Let me know if this works for you, the kind of skin you have, if you enjoyed the experience. I really liked this better then anything I ever bought at the store!

Enjoy!
Valentina
Real Italian Kitchen